Chapter 130: My Love Come Back to Me.
~Ava's POV~
"...or they will perish," he finished, his voice a quiet threat, edged with his power that had nearly crushed an entire room of the most powerful men in the kingdom.
I let my hand rest on his cheek a moment longer, feeling the heat of his skin and the way his jaw tightened beneath my fingers.
He meant it. Every word. And that frightened me, not for myself, but for him. He deserves to live a life without constant bloodshed.
"You'll destroy yourself that way," I said gently, my voice soft and low, only for him. "Every time you fight for me like this, you lose a piece of who you are. You prove to them that you are the monster they call you."
I have not asked anyone, but I have heard rumours. Thanks to the maids assigned to take care of me. Whenever they thought I was sleeping and Callie was not around.
They spoke of him. How he killed his ministers and even went to war and destroyed another kingdom because they had planned to have me assassinated.
"I don't care," I hear him murmur. "I would burn this world down if it meant keeping you safe."
I believed him. That was the problem. He had proved it time and time again.
I leaned into him again, breathing in his scent, earth and fire and something spicy that wasn't his scent before. I guess that belonged to Grey.
Around us, the court was silent. No one dared to speak. Even their breathing was cautious like they feared making the wrong sound would awaken the beast again.
"You didn't have to prove anything to them," I whispered. "I'm already yours."
Raphael's arms tightened around me. "And yet they dared... they dared to question your worth. To call you unfit to stand beside me."
"I am unfit," I said with a dry laugh, my voice hoarse. "By their standards, anyway. I wasn't born into this life. I'm not noble. I was an outcast, remember? Hated by everyone." All caused by your former lover. I would have been a noble even if my kingdom wasn't erased as well.
Raphael's body stilled. A low growl rumbled in his throat, vibrating through me.
"You are more noble than any woman in this world," he growled. "And don't ever let me hear you say otherwise."
I looked up at him, searching his face. "Then stop trying to fight the entire world on my behalf. Just... be with me. That's all I want."
His lips parted like he wanted to argue, but then his eyes softened, and he only nodded. Slowly, he turned, one arm still around me, and looked at the stunned audience.
"Leave," Raphael said, his voice calm now, but no less commanding. "All of you."
No one hesitated. The ministers scrambled to their feet, some nearly falling again in their rush. Elders helped one another up, avoiding both our eyes. Even the high priest clutched at his chest as he staggered out, his lips moving in silent prayer.
Only Drogon, Gwen, and Anastasia remained. Gwen was brushing dust off her gown, her mouth set in a thin line. She gave me a small, approving nod when our eyes met.
Anastasia stood behind her, pale but quiet. Drogon gave Raphael a long, silent look before leading them out wordlessly.
The great doors closed behind them, sealing us in. And for the first time since I had entered the court, there was peace.
Raphael sank to the floor, pulling me gently into his lap. I let him, too tired to resist. My limbs ached, my body was trembling, but in his arms, I felt safer than I had in days.
"You know they will not stop," I murmured after a long silence. "They'll keep trying to separate us."
"Let them try," he said simply. "Next time, I won't show mercy."
"That's not the answer, Raphael."
He looked down at me, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. "Then what is the answer, Ava? How do I protect you without becoming this?" He points to himself.
I didn't know.
Maybe there wasn't an answer. Maybe love, when it came to someone like him, was always going to be violent. Always going to burn too bright, too hot. I had seen him as a man. I had seen him as a monster. And I had loved them both.
"I don't need you to protect me," I said quietly. "Not like that. I just need you to be with me." I don't even know what I am saying, but I don't want my Raphael to be the monster Alasia showed me.
Raphael wasn't a monster. People like Landon and Hellena were the true monsters in my eyes.
He closed his eyes and nodded once, his forehead resting against mine.
"I'll try. I promise I will. But if I fail, please don't hate me. This is the only way I have known all my life to get what I want."
"I know, my love. I sincerely do. However, I don't want you to give in all the time. Be human, it's okay to be one."
"I am no human, little one. I am a thousand years old beast and now I am a god. What's human about me," he murmurs softly. He was trying his best to be strong. I could hear that in his voice.
"You are human enough for me, Raphael. In whatever form. Be it god, man, or beast form. You are human enough to me."
He gasped. First one drop and then another. I just sat still on his lap. I didn't want to interrupt him. He needed this.
"Thank you, Ava. I have done a lot of things that I am not proud of. That you might even hate me for if you find out." Hate... I would have hated him when I found out about Mesodomica people.
"I could never hate you even if I wanted to," I whispered. I just couldn't.
"You really won't?" He sounded so broken. What would make a man so great this weak and vulnerable?
"Never, my love. Never."
We sat there in the silence of the empty court, surrounded by the ashes of a fury that had almost destroyed everything, and held on to each other like lifelines.
And for now, that was enough. However, the gods in the third realm never want peace. Raphael began shaking in my arms. It wasn't a normal one.
Frost began poking out of his skin. It pierced into my palm as panic held me in place. What's happening? Goddess.
"R-Raphael? What's wrong?" My arm was bleeding, but I didn't care. What I cared about was the man in my arms.
"Y-you need to leave, please. I don't know what's wrong. I-I am trying to control myself..." He couldn't complete his words as he screamed.
It was a deafening scream. I should be scared and running for my life, but I wasn't. I couldn't leave him.
"LEAVE..." he screamed at my face. At this point, he had raised his face, and what I saw was truly scary.
Everything in me screamed for me to run, but my heart refused.
"My love, come back to me," I calmly said. I shouldn't panic. Raphael or Grey will never hurt me, right?
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
